Caviar on Tuna Travels

Sarasota, St Armand's Key and Historic High Springs Florida - Pt. 1

Every year our three eldest children go off to summer camp for a week. This year however, only one of them went. So when it came time to pick up David (6 1/2 hours away from home) we decided to make it a weekend getaway as a little treat for the 3 kids who had stayed home. This was great as it allowed us to explore some special places in Florida that we had not been to yet!! We had planned on leaving early on Friday, driving about 3 hours to Sarasota, spending the day exploring the town, and the beach and then heading on to the Gainesville area (another 3 1/2 hour drive), where we would spend the night. Saturday we would visit David at Camp Kulaqua where there would be church service and the baptism of some of the campers (it's a Church affiliated camp). Time permitting, we would then visit the Historic little town of High Springs, FL just 15 minutes away from camp. Sunday we would pick David up at camp, and then head on over to Rainbow Springs, a GORGEOUS state park with crystal clear turquoise waters, manatees, tubing, kayaking and hiking trails! But it was not meant to be. All that week the WHOLE East Coast (from NY on down to FL) was under heavy rain, winds, and tornado warnings. On Thursday our home was pelted with hail, extremely high winds and thunderstorms. That night we decided not to head out the following morning. Friday we awoke to more of the same. And worse, it was covering the whole state of Florida so there was no escaping it. We decided to wait and see if Saturday would be any better, but we were pretty sure we would not be heading up. So sure in fact, that I didn't even pack!!

Well, Saturday morning we woke up to a cloudy, but rain free day, and so we rushed to pack a couple of outfits for each of us, and by 7:30am we were heading down Alligator Alley (which connects Fort Lauderdale to the Gulf Coast of Florida). Now, for those who are unfamiliar with Alligator Alley, it is a straight line, that goes on for about 1 1/2 hours with no exits for most of the way. There are no gas stations, no houses, no businesses. Just a road in the middle of alligator ridden Everglades. Oh, and the occasional panther.

Whenever we go down this stretch, we don't count barns or out-of-state tags, we count alligators!! Well, we were about 30 minutes and 12 alligators into our journey when we saw a woman by the side of the road. We stopped to see if she needed help and found out that her tire had blown up and she didn't have a spare!!! She had just moved to Fort Lauderdale two days earlier and had removed the spare to fit more things in the trunk. However, she was still working in Naples. She had been unable to reach anyone on the phone, and the two police cars she'd seen had passed by and had failed to stop and help her!!

While there are fences on Alligator Alley, it is NOT a safe place for a person to be alone. Much less a woman!! Well, she asked where we were heading and if we could please drop her off at the first exit into Naples. She was a Home Health Nurse and had an elderly patient waiting for her. We decided to give her a lift, and my husband said, tell me where you need to be and I will take you there. So we ended up driving her to her job. Since this was her first time going to work from the Alley, she didn't really know the way, so we got lost, but we finally made it! When we got to her job she told us that while she had been on the side of the road she had been praying for God to send her a good Samaritan, because she needed to get off the road. She also needed someone soon because she had told her boss she would be at work by 10am (we stopped at 8:15am). She gave her word she would be there even though she had no idea how she was going to get there! Well, we dropped her off at her job at 9:57am!! Now that's faith!! While this set us back about 1 hour, and made it so that we missed the "window" to visit David at camp on Saturday, I can't tell you how great it felt to help someone in need, and the kids didn't mind the setback!

Since we knew we weren't going to make it in to David's camp on time (still 5 hours away), we decided to head to Sarasota and spend a few hours exploring the town. Sarasota is adorable!! If you are ever up near Tampa, it is a must stop!! If we had more time we would have spent more time exploring the city, but since our time was limited we headed on over to Armand's Key, a barrier island of Sarasota, just over the bridge!

For part 2, on Sarasota's Lido Beach and Armand's Key, read below!!

Alligator Alley, Sarasota, St Armand's Key and Historic High Springs Florida - Pt. 2

Lido Beach, SARASOTA, FL

Armand's Key is the perfect place to visit if you don't have a lot of time. The "downtown", is basically a circular main street, with a circular"square", with cute little outdoor cafes, shops, boutiques, and art galleries surrounding the "square". The square is really Circle Park, and it has 80 beautiful bronze circle plaques with the name of each of the Ringling Brothers (it's off of John Ringling Causeway), and other circus performers, as the town was developed by Mr Ringling himself!! We found that on the weekends the "square" is full of white tent and friendly vendors selling their one of a kind art pieces, clothing accessories, and yummy treats!! Just a block away is the beach, with white cornstarch sand, and turquoise blue waters!! We were able to walk the whole "downtown", walk through the little "fair" at Circle Park, and still make it over to the beach, in just a couple of hours!! The little town is adorable. It is obviously a nice, upscale town, but it is unpretentious and inviting! The kids really enjoyed seeing the interesting shops along the way, and were blown away by the great beach!!

This San Diego artist was amazing to watch!! I wrote down his name and the name of art gallery, but now I can't find it! If you know who he is, or the name of the gallery where he was working, please comment!!

While making your way by the shops you'll notice many eating spots. From restaurants with adorable outdoor eating areas, to hotdog shops and ice cream parlors. Christopher really liked
this little guy!! :)

One of our favorite shops was the "tube dude" store. Created by artist Scott Gerber after his business went under, these welded sculptures just put a smile on your face!!

And for every few tube-dudes sold, Scott Gerber donates one in order to keep the "smiles" coming! You will spot these happy little guys all over Armand's Key, as well as on the "mainland" of Sarasota. If you'd like to know more, here's a link to a great article: "Tale behind Tube Dude". I REALY want one!!! :)

Something else you'll notice on Armand's Key are the statues of Greek and Roman Mythology. Here you'll spot Diana and Zeus and Neptune among others. There are over 30 of these gorgeous sculptures!! The statues are truly beautiful and apparently they were brought over by John Ringling himself in the early 1900's because he felt that it was important to have real art in Sarasota!!

I think that what we loved the most about Armand's Key was the fact that, even though there was so much to see and do, from the shops, art galleries, and cafe's on "Main Street", to Circle Park, Lido Beach and the serene and inspiring garden of St. Armand's Key Lutheran Church, everything was within easy walking distance. Really, I cannot stress enough how walkable and pleasant the "exploring" was in this little
town!! Another thing that we noticed was how friendly and pleasant everyone was! For some reason in South Florida people are usually in a hurry, or just not very patient. We found the people to be very kind! And to me, THAT makes the "place" as much as anything else. So kudos to Sarasota and it's lovely residents!! We'll definitely be back!!

And last, but certainly not least, St. Armand's Key Lutheran Church! Actually, depending on where you park, this is the first thing you see as you enter the little "downtown" area! Their is a perfect little public Garden adjacent to the church. The kids really enjoyed it!